Country-focused Bulletins

September 12, 2019 South Africa: Xenophobia, Deep Roots, Today´s Crisis
“In the early years after I got 'home,' it took me some time to
figure out how to respond to the idea that Africa was a place that
began beyond South Africa's borders. I was surprised to learn that
the countries where I had lived -- the ones that had nurtured my
soul in the long years of exile -- were actually no places at all
in the minds of some of my compatriots. … Though they thought
themselves to be very different, it seemed to me that whites and
blacks in South Africa were disappointingly similar when it came to
their views on 'Africa.' … This warped idea of Africa was at the
heart of the idea of South Africa itself. Just as whiteness means
nothing until it is contrasted with blackness as savagery, South
African-ness relies heavily on the construction of Africa as a
place of dysfunction, chaos and violence in order to define itself
as functional, orderly, efficient and civilised.” - Sisonke Msimang

September 12, 2019 South Africa: Spotlight on Gender-based Violence
“Our nation is in mourning and pain. Over the past few days, our
country has been deeply traumatised by acts of extreme violence
perpetrated by men against women and children. These acts of
violence have made us doubt the very foundation of our democratic
society, our commitment to human rights and human dignity, to
equality, to peace and to justice. … Violence against women has
become more than a national crisis. It is a crime against our
common humanity.” - President Cyril Ramaphosa, September 5, 2019

April 9, 2019 South Africa: Politicians Scapegoating Immigrants
In what became a debate amongst a small group of residents [in
Alexandra], another resident Kabelo Tsotetsi, defended immigrants,
saying they were starting their own businesses and not taking jobs
from South Africans. Tsotetsi said: “Our government doesn’t make
it easy for foreigners to live here, they don’t get help. They
come from countries where they are severely oppressed and they
come here and face the same struggles as us. We are all Africans
fighting for our dignity.” - GroundUp, April 3, 2019